A Shramik Special train. (SouthWestern Railway/@SWRRLY/Twitter)In a major move towards providing relief to stranded migrants, Railways minister Piyush Goyal announced on Saturday (16 May) that the railways is ready to run 'Shramik Special' trains from any district, reports ANI.
He further added that the District Collectors should prepare lists of stranded labourers with destination and apply to Railways through State nodal officer.
Goyal tweeted, “ To provide relief to migrant labour, Indian Railways is ready to run "Shramik Special" trains from any District in the Country. District Collectors should prepare lists of stranded labour & destination and apply to Railways through the State nodal officer.”
It should be noted that Indian Railways has operated 1074 Shramik Special trains and transported over 1.4 million stranded migrants to their home States till the midnight of 15 May.
Over the last three days, the Indian Railways has transported more than two lakh such migrants, each day.
Meanwhile, Railways has also started 15 interstate passenger trains since 12 May. Fifteen such trains have been pressed into service, for now, all of which initiate from the national capital of Delhi. This gains significance as Railways has cancelled all the tickets booked prior to the lockdown for train travel period up to 30 June.
However, it should be noted that goods trains and rail operations for unhindered supply of essentials have been continued by the Railways throughout this period.
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